Upon his return to the United States, Dr. Potters will present at the 47th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) to be held in Denver, CO, October 16-20. In addition to serving as a speaker for the meeting's Presidential Course, which will focus on expanding the uses and efficiencies of radiation therapy, he will present an accepted abstract and give a review lecture on prostate brachytherapy.Well-versed in healthcare economics issues, Dr. Potters has been elected to serve as ASTRO's Health Economics Vice-Chair. Previously, he served as Joint Economics Committee Co-chair and chaired the Regulatory Subcommittee for five years.
Brachytherapy
Dr. Potters is the author of the largest and most comprehensive study ever undertaken of permanent prostate brachytherapy, or "seed therapy", which found that overall survival rates for patients were equal to or better than surgery. Entitled, "Twelve-Year Outcomes Following Permanent Prostate Brachytherapy In Patients With Clinically Localized Prostate Cancer," the study tracked the outcome of 1,449 patients treated with permanent prostate brachytherapy between 1992 and 2000. This long-term study identified a biochemical recurrence-free survival rate of 81 percent, which is equal to or better than comparable rates found in studies of other forms of treatment for men with clinically localized prostate cancer. In addition, cancer specific survival over 12 years rose to 93 percent.Dr. Potters was the first physician to offer prostate brachytherapy on Long Island and is the pioneer of the latest approach for seed implantation that uses real-time and dynamic computerization in the operating room to assist in planning and evaluating the radiation dose within the prostate. This novel technique assures for satisfactory implant quality while using the fewest number of seeds, thus avoiding some side effects.
"Seeding" fights prostate cancer
Brachytherapy is a proven treatment option for men with localized prostate cancer. Commonly called "seeding," it is a form of radiation therapy that fights prostate cancer with rice-sized radioactive seeds implanted inside the body. While previous independent clinical studies have demonstrated that the minimally invasive outpatient procedure has cure rates comparable to or better than surgery, it is only now, with the results of long term studies, that physicians are more comfortable offering this procedure as a true alternative to radical prostatectomy.
First of its kind
The New York Prostate Institute (www.nyprostate.org) at South Nassau is the first center of its kind on the east coast that offers comprehensive treatment options, including brachytherapy for prostate cancer. Modeled after similar clinics in the Northwest, the NYPI incorporates Dr. Potters' experience as a leading prostate cancer researcher from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York where he published extensively on prostate cancer treatments.South Nassau Communities Hospital is one of the region's largest hospitals, with 435 beds, more than 820 physicians and 2,200 employees. Located in Oceanside, NY, the Hospital is an acute-care, not-for-profit teaching hospital that provides state-of-the-art care in cardiac, oncologic, orthopedic, bariatric, pain management, mental health and emergency services. In addition to its extensive outpatient specialty centers, South Nassau boasts Long Island's first gamma knife and New York State's first acute angioplasty program.
Free lecture at Winthrop on cyberknife technology: a new option for inoperable tumors
Providing a new option to people with tumors and lesions once considered inoperable, Winthrop-University Hospital's Advances in Cancer Care series will offer a free lecture, "CyberKnife: New Option for Inoperable Tumors," on Tuesday, October 25, 2005 at 7:00 PM. Held at Winthrop's Community Outreach Center at 101 Mineola Boulevard at the corner of Second Street, the program will explain the new breakthrough radiosurgery system that is currently only available at Winthrop. CyberKnife delivers precisely targeted radiation to tumors. Extraordinarily accurate, this remarkable technology provides access to previously unreachable and untreatable tumors throughout the body when radiation therapy is indicated. Alan Katz, M.D., Director of the Division of Radiation Oncology at Winthrop, will discuss this new alternative to conventional surgery for certain cases of brain, spine and soft-tissue (lungs, liver, and pancreas) tumors. Dr. Katz will explain how the painless, bloodless, outpatient procedure works, which conditions can be treated, and the advantages of CyberKnife radiosurgery relative to other systems. A question and answer period will follow the lecture. Attendees are asked to arrive at 6:45 PM. Parking and the entrance are in the rear of the building. Admission is free, but seating is limited and reservations are required. To reserve your space, call (516) 663-9370.
North Shore-LIJ receives FDA approval for new drug application to manufacture PET scan drug
The Institute for Medical Research of the North Shore-Long Island Jewish (LIJ) Health System has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to manufacture a drug used for diagnostic imaging with positron emission tomography (PET), a scanning technique that generates internal pictures of the human body at work. The Institute's cyclotron/radiochemistry facility in Manhasset is the third institution in the United States approved by the FDA to manufacture fludeoxyglucose F-18 injection, and the only one approved to make it at the highest strength currently available. It is twice the strength of the second institution's drug, and five times the strength of the first, which is no longer on the market. Because radiopharmaceuticals like fludeoxyglucose F-18 decay rapidly, they must be used right away. However, the necessity to produce them in a hospital setting and then use them immediately poses a potential safety issue. If fludeoxyglucose F-18 is contaminated by microorganisms, other chemicals, byproducts or impurities, it may affect the quality of the PET scan result and also pose a danger to patients. Therefore, manufacturing radiopharmaceuticals in a controlled environment that operates under rigorous quality assurance standards is key to safe production."The FDA is in the process of instituting regulatory control over the manufacture of radiopharmaceuticals used in PET scanning such as fludeoxyglucose F-18 to ensure safety to patients and the use of highly controlled manufacturing practices," said Thomas Chaly, Ph.D, chief of the Institute's cyclotron/radiochemistry facility and the author of its new drug application to the FDA. Regulation is expected within the next few years, he said. FDA approval to manufacture a radiopharmaceutical depends not only on the success of the actual application but a site visit and inspection by the FDA of the facilities, equipment and procedures used in the manufacture of the drug.
